Fox, Sony TV look to revive ‘Heathers’

Mark Rizzo, Jenny Bicks to adapt 1989 film

Dear Diary: Fox is developing a contemporary take on the 1989 Christian Slater/Winona Ryder feature “Heathers.”

Dark comedy will be adapted for TV by scribe Mark Rizzo, with an assist from “Sex and the City” alum Jenny Bicks. Sony Pictures TV, where Bicks is based, will produce, along with Lakeshore Entertainment, which holds the rights to “Heathers.”

Rizzo is still kicking around ideas on how to update “Heathers” 20 years after the film became a favorite among the underground set. But the characters from the movie are all expected to be there — Veronica Sawyer (played in the movie by Ryder), J.D. (Slater) and the “Heathers.”

The original movie revolved around Veronica as she navigates a clique of mean girls — all named Heather — and rebels after meeting J.D., the new guy at school. Soon, the Heathers start “accidentally” dying at the hands of Veronica and J.D., who cover up the deaths by faking them as suicides. Ryder’s character chronicles her teen angst and the rising body count with regular diary entries.

The idea for a “Heathers” revival came from inside UTA, where reps for Rizzo and Bicks decided the title was ripe for revival and contacted Lakeshore about potentially dusting off the franchise.

For Lakeshore, the project, which is in the script stage at Fox, reps its introduction to the world of TV.

“We had the title, and talked about doing a film remake at times,” said Lakeshore prexy Gary Lucchesi. “But doing it for TV seemed like a fresh and original idea.”

Rizzo is onboard to write and exec produce, while Bicks is a nonwriting exec producer. Lucchesi and Lakeshore’s Tom Rosenberg will also exec produce.

Rizzo’s credits include the pilot “Zip,” which was developed twice at NBC, while Bicks is also known for “Men in Trees” and “Leap of Faith” and has also been adapting “Washingtonienne” for HBO.

The original “Heathers” pic was directed by Michael Lehmann and penned by Daniel Waters. Other stars included Shannen Doherty.